Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Branding of my COS Series

September 2023 

I've wanted to 'brand' my books in each series. It is something that can be expensive and to find the right thing for the Chest of Souls series has been a challenge.  

So, I turned to someone with a vested interest in the story, my daughter.  After talking about it, going through a few designs, this is the basic, close-to-finished design. There are a few things to be taken away and a few things that need to be added; flourishes, glowing eyes on the blades heads, and numbering on the middle of the chest.


This logo will now be on the Title Page inside each book. It shows the Morda Blades that are used by Tasut and Talon - made from the heads of the avians known as rykes. The box in the middle will contain a number to identify which book it is.  

Which brings me to: Renumbering the entire set

The prequels and sequels will absorbed in the numbering so they are no longer identified as prequels/sequels, but are now in simple chronological order. The covers will reflect this.

In all honesty, I did all of this for me because I am interested in getting copies of my books in hardback. When they sit on my office shelf, I'll be able to see the numbers on the bottom of the spine. 

You may have noticed I have new covers as I find replacements. This is an expensive endeavor and has taken me a long time to get covers replaced - not to mention that I have been writing other series, etc. 

How many more books?  I do not plan on writing anymore after Ties that Bind. That is title of the last book in the series. Unfortunately, I have just realized I may have to write a book that spans the time before End of Reason (EOR) and Ties that Bind (TTB) because I am world-building again.  So, I will try NOT to write so much, but there is a lot to explore.

I am currently working on what I think of as the last two books, EOR and TTB, but I think I may have to add a bit to EOR's title: Arista, End of Reason, or, *sigh* I will simply have Arista, End of Reason, and TTB.

I have about 300 pages written so far and have hardly scratched the surface. Yet, I do not want to bog things down with how rich the world of Arista is, so I am trying to do something less with the history, which is more than a million years long, and do more with my wonderful new characters. 

The FIRST draft of the last two books should be finished at the end of this year (Cross your fingers!).  I usually do at least four drafts now, but this may take more because I have to tie up all loose ends.

 

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Sons of Thunder by Michelle Erickson (my 32nd book)

 


Blurb: 

Mal Kayman is on a quest that may kill him
That's nothing new, but his feelings for Anicette are.
If only they could get out of the ever-changing fog,
He might be able to explore them.

Driven to fly south, Ketu is wrapped in fire, blazing over an ocean.
She has seen whales, but no land, not even a rock!
Shaking with exhaustion, she feels the fire within dimming.
Why was she pushed in this direction if all she's going to do is drown?

Utahna gave Brenna a message. Five Years Ago!
She knows what she's supposed to do, but can't find it in her to tell Wyn
that everything they've done so far was the easy part.
The consequences of her procrastination are beginning to rumble.

Cost: ebook: $2.99


History of cover: The original cover's tiger had green eyes.  I requested blue, plus lightning.  I like it.  In hindsight, I would have kept the green-eyed tiger as well - for the paperback's back cover.  There is another reason, of course, but you'd have to read it to find out.

New Cover for Sacrifice of Souls

 

High Priestess Saro
I bought this on selfpubbookcovers.com
I had the artist modify it for an additional $50



I've wanted to replace several of my old covers, but didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars, so I've been using selfpubbookcovers for eight of the Chest of Souls Epic series.

Sometimes, you have to compromise on exactly what you want. I suggest you pick at least two covers when you find one you like.  I had one other cover possibility, but it quickly fell apart when the changes I wanted would not have been able to be covered by the $50 surcharge. This worked out better.

The character was described by Talon (the main male character) as looking like something that "hell spat out" and while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, to him, this woman wore WAY too much makeup and he thought she looked evil.  After all, she was noted for having children thrown into fire.  

There is A LOT more to this story and this book had some startling revelations (even to me, the author). However, I don't want to give the plot away. I'll just add the blurb.

BLURB 

Brenna is on the other side of time to be trained.
To her horror, it is a place she cannot reach or see Talon.
Others are there, including her mysterious teacher - a woman known only as the Forest Wife. The strange woman is beautiful, hard as Tasut, and as intelligent as Brenna's mother.
That combination doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room.

Talon is in Sogo - courtesy of his father's great fist.
He is to be sold at auction. He can't protect Brenna while he's in Sogo.
His plan at the moment is to survive.
Where he's going, the odds are stacked against him, 300-1. 

Friday, April 29, 2022

New cover for Aftermath!

Old Cover



The old covers were made with
PS (PhotoShop of the day).
We did the best we could
with the idea of eventually
replacing them. Expect to see more
of these old (collectors editions)
covers replaced. Likely by the artists
at Selfpubbookcovers.com
















New Cover



Dear fans,
This is a no-brainer. The original
covers were used just to get
the products into your hands.
This cover was produced
by Saphira @ selfpubbookcovers.com










 

Saturday, June 5, 2021

With Wings and Talons by Michelle Erickson (COS book 12, my 31st book)

 


Blurb: 

For Revaya and Pax,
there have been stumbling blocks on the path to the throne of Eos.

After preventing the complete genocide of grey-aerie,
Rozan-aerie has thousands of enemy eggs to take care of.
In their hearts, they’d rather scramble them.
It doesn’t help that her grandmother, Axe, 
would hand them the skillet! 

Trying to keep Benz alive isn’t easy either. 
She left her books behind and took a leap into life.
Her curiosity and unbridled tongue are going to get her killed.
If Axe doesn't pluck her first!

A mysterious rogue harpy rules the castle in the sky
Unknowns make Revaya nervous.
Because in Shara, they usually spell death.
She has no way to find out if she’s in the spelling bee.

Short of flying up to have a look which would be an act of war.
The biggest stumbling block is the fact
they aren't full-blood harpies,
if Pax and Revaya dare approach Eos, 
Axe says it could be a bloodbath.
She'll do everything she can to avoid it.

In their favor, Pax assures her,
Eos harpies have no idea what we are capable of.
But they're going to find out! We are going to win!
She wants him to be right, 
but the time of the twelve is upon them.
It’s time to decide: peace, or wings and talons!


e-book Price: $2.99 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Talons-Fantasy-Adventure-Sorcery-ebook/dp/B095PV9TBG 

Paperback also available:

https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Talons-Chest-Souls/dp/B093RP1X6Y



Background to this Cover story: 

Originally, I chose a different cover, which I will use for End of Reason (two books from now). But when I saw this cover, I fell in love with it and wasn't sure which book I would use it for. I just knew that I had to have it.

If it hadn't been for this cover, the entire book would have had a different flavor.  I'm SO glad I was able to buy it from AK Cover design at selfpubbookcovers.







Thursday, April 22, 2021

2-Star review

 



Readers, Fans, and those who are wondering if they want to be fans:


Most of the time, I read my reviews, but I missed one because I'm busy writing the rest of the Chest of Souls series. 


This Amazon review was brought to my attention by two of my pre-readers. Both were concerned, but only one suggested I address it.  


Amazon used to have a way to leave comments on another person's comment. I guess I either missed that memo about their change, or I simply don't know how to do it.  


So, here is what I would have written to her IF I could have simply answered her on Amazon: 


Thank you for reading nine novels of my soon-to-be TWENTY novel Epic Fantasy.  If anyone that reads this would like to know my side of the story, follow this link (which would lead them here, to this blog.)


Here, they would all read the following.


I once entered a book into a writers contest. Although that book has done extremely well for me (278 reviews of which 80%+ are 4-star and higher), a judge claimed that she couldn't accept (or find believable), how fast the couple in the book falls in love. 


My question to anyone that is reading: did that make her review right?


My answer: It was her opinion. To her, yes, it was not only valid, but it was also completely spot on and everyone should feel the same way.


Here is what I know: we are the sum of our reaction to our life experiences. If someone has a negative experience in their background, I'm not in charge of writing 'carefully' so it doesn't trigger them.  


I understand that I can't and won't please everyone. Any writer that is holding out for universal approval will be vastly disappointed.   


I rarely address reviews because I'd rather be writing. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I won't lose sleep over someone that doesn't like my work.  A recent example from a person that downloaded the first (free) book to the series: I hate cliffhangers.  What that person doesn't understand is how ratings work - unless they are a troll, which has accounted for some.  Note:  TKA is not a troll.


I welcome both kinds of reviews - good and bad.  Thankfully, through God's grace, I have received a lot more good than bad. I have hundreds of reviews and 90% are rated 4 and higher.


You can stop reading now, or, you can read her review and my responses to her critique below.


Her review is in black. My response is in red. 


T.K.A. (name of the person who posted review)

 

2.0 out of 5 stars 


TKA's rating. Thankfully, she leaves her explanation, which helped me understand her better.


Violent, dark, not my definition of clean, not for everybody


This is what she thinks everyone should know and what she wished she had known before reading. 


TKA: Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021


This took place last month. It was her first review ever.  

How do I know this? 

I can click on the reviewer's name and see what else they've reviewed.  

You can see what a person likes/dislikes. It was empty. This means she was emotionally involved enough, she felt she HAD to respond. 


TKA: This review is for the entire Chest of Souls series, as I read all nine books.


This is where I realized I needed to contact Amazon.  They packaged what they thought was a completely finished series into one package.  


Chest of Souls begins with five prequels. I would recommend reading these first if you like chronological order and to understand the final six books (two have already been released). 


Note:  I contacted Amazon.  I noted that they've also done the same thing with another of my series (Stoddard Sisters).  Hopefully, this will be changed soon. Thank you, TKA! It is because of your review I've done this. 


UPDATE 22 April 2021: have heard nothing back from Amazon other than they are 'checking into it' and will get back to me 'soon.' I had to send them screenshots of what I was talking about. They agreed it was valid. Evidently, they have no idea what to do about it - yet.

 

TKA:  I was told it was a "clean" read that "everyone" would enjoy. My experience with it was therefore extremely disappointing.


I assume that she read other reviews and that is who 'told' her.

Maybe most people, like myself, consider 'clean' to be without sex. Thankfully, in the next paragraph, she defines HER idea of clean:

TKA: As far as the "clean" aspect, I don't wish to go into details, but suffice to say the plot deals with elements that would definitely get this series an R rating if it were made into films. 


For her, 'clean' is violence-free or, at least, not as violent as what I have written. There is violence in this entire series, but it is not gratuitous.  There is always a reason for the violence - mostly, self-preservation while the characters try to fight their way to freedom. 


This series has been compared to Lord of the Rings by other readers. It deserves the same rating as the theatre version of LOR or Hunger Games. 


Author behind-the-scenes insight:  I based this series on the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament. 


The prequels and then the first nine books of this series is everything that leads up to and then about the destruction of the city-state of Sogo, billed as the most wicked city in the world.  I deliberately made it as wicked as I could.  To do so, I studied scriptures. Surprised?   As my aunt once said, 'There isn't anything new since the Bible was written.'  


TKA: Not something I would recommend to any child or teenager, and even as an adult I felt horrified and sickened. I can't say much more without feeling really triggered, so let's move on.


I rate the books 13+. On the other hand, I have a friend that read these books to her boys when they were pre-teens. One became a Marine. They still enjoy the books. 


TKA: The series is also brutally violent and dark. 


At times, it is brutally violent. So was Sodom and Gomorrah, so was the Roman Colesium, so is war. 


Dark? That's her opinion.


My basic theme is always good vs evil in COS (Chest of Souls) and that, despite anything evil throws at you, it can be overcome.


Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  


My characters do something - sometimes the unthinkable, sometimes they make mistakes that cause others pain, some end up paying the ultimate price. This series shows what a group can do together when they are united in purpose to take action against the impossible.  



TKA: The author pulls no punches and seems to take a sadistic delight in tormenting her characters, only barely sparing them as is necessary for plot purposes. 


As an author, I can't afford to pull punches. I do paint my characters into corners.  Like most authors, I do it on purpose.  I'm not a sadist. It. Is. My. Job.  to keep you reading. 


TKA: As someone with lived experience of domestic abuse, I was especially put off by the fact that Talon's father is emotionally and physically abusive of him. It made reading about him extremely unpleasant, even if he was technically a protagonist. There were reasons given in the plot for his actions and attitude toward his son, but it didn't really mitigate the fact that he was a horrible father who brought up really bad memories for me.


This, I suspect, is the bullseye as to why TKA gave this book a 2-star rating. I'm surprised she chose to continue reading after the first chapter in book one.


I did not write Tasut to be likable or a good father. The character was given a task by diety (train the Champion) and he is totally committed to doing anything/everything he is asked by Father of All (who is the Heavenly Father, God, diety, of this series).  


TKA: I also found the characters lackluster and sometimes downright irritating. Talon and Brenna, the two main characters, I absolutely were not rooting for because they were so obnoxious. 


Every reader has an opinion. 


TKA: Brenna's superpower is literally that she is the most beautiful woman in the world and every man is instantly attracted to her. She is also extremely jealous, selfish, and superficial, and I quickly tired of her getting into trouble with her antics. 


Brenna's superpower is the ability to pretty much do anything. Period. It is why she needs Talon, who is her conscience. 


Also, Brenna is very superficial. I wrote her that way, in part, because she is a teenager for most of the series.  


NOTE: I used some of my memories from that era in my own life. My journals reminded me how deeply a teenager could love/hate/obsess.  Am I Brenna?  Yes and No. I am not, nor ever was, physically beautiful. However, I have been obsessed with a crush, hated with a purple-eyed passion, and loved beyond all imagination.


TKA: Talon was a nice enough guy, but he was also very one-note as though he only existed to be Brenna's love interest, and really his only outstanding character trait was being freakishly muscular. 


Again, this is her opinion.


I can tell the readers that Talon is not a "one-note" character.  He is unselfish, honest, true, chaste, willing to die for the woman he loves (or not die, in one scene). He is a totally committed man and will pull his men through a knothole backward just to keep Brenna alive because he loves her.  I consider him to be the better half of the relationship.


TKA: The world also contains this special tea that characters drink to remain young and beautiful indefinitely, so even the main characters' parents continue to be youthful and attractive as their children grow up. It really felt like high fantasy Baywatch at points and it was just too weird and soap opera-ish for me.


BTW: in case readers/fans do not know, high fantasy would have elves, unicorns, etc.  This is not high fantasy.  The reference she made to Baywatch is a nonplus to me.  Soaps?  Again her opinion.


The explanation for the tea and why it is necessary:  those with sacred callings from Father of All needed to be in their 'prime' for as long as it took them to accomplish their mission in life.   


TKA: I also feel that the author did not do the best job of handling the dynamics and character arcs for some of the other characters in the book. 


Other reviewers have written just the opposite. Including stating that I don't have secondary characters - that I treat them all the same.


TKA: There is one character, the youngest of three adult sisters, who is so unbelievably stupid and self-centered that she puts the other characters in mortal peril more than once, and just doesn't care. In a very dangerous world where everyone fights just to stay alive, she is an incredible liability and I do not know why her sisters placed her in a leadership position in a secret organization that she repeatedly threatens to destroy with her ineptitude. 


Thank you, thank you!  Why?  Because Haddy drove me NUTS to write!  I'm an organized person (an asset when writing a twenty-novel series) and she was all over the map!  I tried killing her - more than once.  


TKA: It seems like the author was trying to play her for laughs, but the attempt at humor fell flat for me as all I saw was a disaster waiting to happen in a very serious situation. I think the worst part of it all was that she never changed. I would have been willing to put up with her behavior at first if it had led to her having some sort of turn-around and character growth, but she was her same obnoxious self throughout all nine books. I'm really surprised she survived that long with how flippantly she treated her situation.


Haddy was not a joke. She was the bane of the Ryn sisters!  Thankfully, I can report to anyone that reads this blog post that the story I began a decade ago, will finally have a finish.  Haddy features in these books.  


TKA: I was also very disappointed in the character arc for the oldest of the three sisters, one of the few characters I actually liked and empathized with. She was also, for some reason, the only main character who did not drink the youthfulness tea, and was described as plain. (Maybe the author felt like she didn't have anything to lose by aging?) Personality-wise, she was grounded, calm, and wise, someone I identified with and sympathized with.  I don't want to spoil too much, but basically early on in the story her character arc gets resolved incredibly brutally, and, I feel, unfairly. 


As far as what happened, in her opinion, was unfair,  bad things happen to good people every day.


Note: Loni does drink the tea. All Eyes are required to do so. The tea does not make you pretty, nor does it cure diseases. 


As far as Loni being plain: all three sisters come from different mothers.  Loni was the daughter of the least attractive and most violent.  Loni, I will point out, was also violent (she rips out an antagonist's throat), she is a highly-trained assassin - one of many that protect Brenna, who is destined to save the world from Sogo. Loni is second-in-command of the Eyes.


TKA: I almost felt like the author was sending the subconscious message that only beautiful people are allowed to succeed, and anyone who does not look like a supermodel does not have enough other good qualities to keep them in the game for long.


I think I have a good mix of both.

I feel TKA gives the wrong impression here. She skipped over the fact I have a very diverse cast that includes those with special needs (one is in a wheelchair, two are blind, etc.) She didn't even bring up Wyn, one of the main characters, who begins the story as a cross-eyed, knock-kneed, clumsy, puny, orphan.  


My characters show growth and the readers get to grow with them. Though it is a sad fact, most people prefer beautiful to plain when they read, especially fantasy.  

    

TKA: On a technical level, I think the author did a pretty good job, hence the two stars. The writing is tight, I couldn't find any plot holes, and she does do a great job using prose to describe environments and action (graphic as it may be). I can tell she also had a lot of fun crafting her fantasy world and all of the creatures and concepts it contains. 


A wonderful approbation!  I love the world I created and worked very hard to craft a story I would read (and have read -  many many times). 


TKA: I just found the storyline so distasteful and traumatic, and the characters so annoying, that even the best prose in the world couldn't make me like them.


The fact TKA  was able to stick with a storyline so 'distasteful and 'traumatic' for nine books is astonishing.


Thank you, T.K.A., and may you have good reads wherever you go!





Saturday, March 20, 2021

Return to Shara - Chest of Souls Book 11

 My 29th book, Return to Shara


Blurb: 

Armed with the power to shape worlds, the Four that destroyed the Fortress at Brissa and ruled the free land for tens of millennia are returning to Shara.


Ammon can't wait!
He's almost sure his beautiful dangerous wife, Haddy, will be able to stand her ground, 
no matter the opposition!

Jaydren, the Earth-Mac, plans to take back his family stronghold, Stones Fist.
His Water-Mac wife, Soline, never wanted to return to the land that held her prisoner for millennia.

Revaya, an AIr-Mac, wonders if her harpy grandmother is alive.
She could use pointers about how she and her husband, Pax, 
are supposed to claim Eos, the Red-Aerie harpy stronghold.

Ketu Modae is now the most power Fire-Mac the world has ever known.
She wishes to help her friends, but is relentlessly drawn southward, away from them. Why?

Yes, they're heading home,
but who will survive a land that's a death wish on its good days and on its bad,
everything and everyone (except family) wants to kill you.

Come to think of it, even then, there's no guarantee


Friday, May 1, 2020

COS Book 10

Released April 2020



Price: 2.99
Cover: selfpubbookcovers.com
Typography: StravenLite
376 pages




The Blurb

 

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Tales from the Chest: Baiting Red Geets

Sometimes you have to give up something good - this scene - for something better - the scene in which I used to establish a bit of Tryk's eccentricity.  Plus, I brought up the Geets in a later scene.
*********************************************************************************

Talon reluctantly made the fire Tryk requested, wondering if it would somehow have something to do with food - hoping, but not believing.

"Hold still," Tryk whispered, looking at the wide-eyed Talon who instantly froze.

He watched as his inventor-friends good eye tracked something behind Talon.  Judging from the quick jerky movements of that eye, it was small and fast.

"They're very sensitive to sound and smell, but their eyesight is really poor."

This, of course, could be any number of Tryk's "finds" and Talon tried not to flinch at the thought of the last find - an albino skunk.  Tryk often left critical things out of conversation - like the fact whether or not something was going to attack - or if it were poisonous.

"Ah - ha!" Tryk crowed, his hand darted toward the now crackling fire and Talon stopped him from putting his hand into the flames.  

"What are you doing!" he sputtered, shocked.

Tryk gave an owlish blink and unsuccessfully tried to jerk his hand away.  "It's a red-tailed geet!"

"A what?" Talon looked where Tryk pointed with his free hand.

"In the fire, boy!"

There, in the fire were a growing number of lizards - all glowing, all looking content.

"That's why I needed the fire!  I'm studying them," the inventor insisted.  "The only way I could tempt one was to have a fire."

Talon released Tryk's hand, but kept a watch on him since the man was known to do what sane people would never consider.






Lyon Tybar's parents


                                                                          Robby Benson as Lyon Tybar's father,  Redge Ryhawk.












Karla DeVito Benson
as Lyon's mother, Dayauni "Auni" Ashfael

As newlyweds - Redge and Auni




Lyon's father, Redge Ryhawk was ruler over the Sogoian Assassins Guild.  Redge has a special cameo at the very first of the novel, Chest of Souls.  He is one of two escorts for the "One" when she is taken to visit the Temple of the Unknown God.  

Auni is never brought up in the Chest of Souls, but as the author, I knew she existed and decided that I may as well just mimic life.  I gave Robby Benson/Redge Tybar, Robby's real-life wife, Karla DeVito.

This helps readers understand the value of having a deeper understanding of the characters that are written.  Besides, I love genealogy.